Department of Posts dedicates special cover to Stephen Hawking to pay homage 

KOLKATA: The Department of Posts here today paid homage to celebrated scientist Stephen Hawking by dedicating a special cover to him.

Chief Post Master General, West Bengal Circle, Arundhati Ghosh released the special cover on Hawking, who died on March 14.

A set of eight commemorative postage stamps on the solar system was also released on the occasion.

Speaking on the occasion, scientist S K Chakrabarti of the S N Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences said Hawking's work on the origins and structure of the universe, from the Big Bang to the black holes, the theoretical prediction called Hawking Radiation, revolutionised the understanding of the subject.

Hawking was the first to put out a theory of cosmology explained by a union of the general theory of relativity and quantum mechanics.

His book, "A Brief History of Time", was his most popular work, Chakrabarti said.

Earlier, Union Minister of State for Communications (Independent Charge) Manoj Sinha felicitated the students selected for the first edition of DeenDayal SPARSH (Scholarship for Promotion of Aptitude and Research in Stamps as a Hobby) Yojana 2017-18 through video-conferencing from Delhi.

The minister also called upon the postal department to explore ways to generate revenue through philately (the collection and study of postage stamps), as is the practice in many countries.

Ghosh felicitated the award-winning students from her area.